Mississippi senators pass anti-CRT bill despite Black Democrats’ walkout

The Mississippi state Senate approved a bill Friday aimed at prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory in the state’s public schools. The vote was 32-2.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican state Sen. Michael McLendon, said on the Senate floor that he was not aware of CRT currently being taught in the public schools. In August, the state’s Department of Education said no school was teaching CRT, the Clarion-Ledger of Jackson reported.

"This bill has no intent of changing history, whatsoever," McLendon said, according to the outlet. "All it does is say we’re not telling any child that they’re inferior or superior to another."

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The two "no" votes were cast by the state’s only two White Democratic senators.

All the state’s Black Democratic senators staged a walkout before the vote took place. Senate Democratic Leader Derrick Simmons explained the reason for the protest.

"We cannot afford to spend our time taking up issues in Mississippi that do not exist," Simmons told the Clarion-Ledger. 

CRT, first developed in the 1970s and 1980s, is taught primarily in law schools. It argues that systemic racism occurs in the U.S. through government policies and institutional practices, such as "redlining," in which Black prospective home buyers may be steered away from some neighborhoods.

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The theory has become a source of controversy in other states as well, including in Virginia, where CRT was an issue in last year’s gubernatorial election, which was won by Republican Glenn Youngkin, who was sworn into office earlier this month.

On Youngkin’s first day as governor he signed 11 executive actions, including a ban on teaching CRT in the commonwealth’s schools.

The Mississippi Senate bill moves on to the state House, which was debating its own anti-CRT legislation, according to the Clarion-Ledger.